Japanese Zen Buddhist monk Kaiten Nukariya's work, "The Religion of the Samurai," examines the religious and philosophical traditions of the samurai, the military class of mediaeval Japan. The book also discusses the ethics of Confucianism, Shintoism, and the place of Buddhism in the samurai's code of behavior. According to Nukariya, the samurai's religion was a special synthesis of numerous spiritual traditions, with Buddhism predominating. He examines...